Plans for child development centre in Treendale scrapped

Plan scrapped: Jane Taylor and John Miller outside the formally proposed Zero to Three Child Development facility in the Treendale Shopping Centre district. Photo: Thomas Munday.

Plans for a new child development centre in Treendale have fallen through.

A proposed Zero to Three Child Development facility, to be located in the Treendale Shopping Centre district, was initially approved by the Shire of Harvey in 2016.

The facility’s project coordinators put the first application in to the shire in early 2017, with the last application submitted in November.

Zero to Three Child Development project coordinator John Miller said the centre’s facade was to feature a castle theme to please children and adults, with the overall project due for completion in May 2018.

The group lost the application after negotiations with Town Planning fell through.

Three centres were initially planned for the South West in Treendale, Dalyellup and Vasse at a cost of $5 million.

The Dalyellup and Vasse facilities were formally approved in 2017.

Mr Miller said the group would no longer proceed with plans for a centre in Treendale.

Shire of Harvey president Tania Jackson said the council and applicants did not meet on the same terms.

“The proponents were asked to reconsider the expansive nature of the mural they had put forward as we thought that appropriate signage for a day-care centre could fit within the contemporary-rural theme of the area,” she said.

“They chose to continue with the same options which did not meet the expectations of the community.”

Mr Miller said the Zero to Three initiative focused on a child’s first 1000 days of learning. He added the centres also helped parents to uniquely engage with their children.

“Childcare centres are predominantly there for the basic needs of looking after children and also play-based activities,” he said.

“The future of childcare is going more towards child development, so 95 per cent of our brain is fully developed within the first three years of life and the other five per cent is between three and when we die.

“It’s all play-based activity and it’s not a curriculum – it’s all about understanding the needs of children.”

The proponents were asked to reconsider the expansive nature of the mural they had put forward as we thought that appropriate signage for a day-care centre could fit within the contemporary-rural theme of the area.

Tania Jackson

The centres have focused on expert advice from pediatricians, child psychologists, neuroscientists and researchers in universities and hospitals.

Mr Miller added the centres relied on designers to intricately plan the interior and exterior layouts.

Advocate Jane Taylor had used social media to showcase potential designs for the facade.

“You can see the people behind it actually care more about it than just making an easy buck,” she said. “A lot of thought would have gone into the whole facade...clearly there is a high level of care and high quality of care.”